This invention deals generally with industrial lift trucks. More particularly, it deals with a safety shield that is positioned on the lifting mechanism and movable therewith on the front of the lift truck between the operator's area and the materials that are being handled by the lift truck.
Industrial lift trucks, commonly known as forklifts, are employed in industrial applications routinely to lift and move industrial products from one location to another. Usually in the chemical industry, large quantities of chemicals are stored on pallets in drums or pail type of containers and must be moved from the storage area to a shipping area. Occassionally, the containers for the chemicals can rupture or the chemicals can become contaminated. When this occurs, there is the potential for a combustible or explosive reaction to occur under certain circumstances, or the chemicals can easily be spilled. Under these conditions, it is necessary to transport the contaminated or damaged containers to an open field or area where they can be isolated from the remainder of the chemical products.
Similarly, should a fire occur in an area where chemicals are stored, the danger from the spread of the fire to uninvolved pallets of chemicals is extreme. Under these conditions, it is advantageous to be able to move the uninvolved chemicals away from the fire area.
Attempting to use a forklift to move any chemicals under either of these conditions, however, exposes the operator of the forklift to danger. Should the chemicals explode or combust while they are being moved, the forklift operator could be seriously injured, since forklifts routinely have an open operator area without any protective screening or materials separating the operator from the material being handled.
Various protective devices have been designed for different vehicles to protect the operators from bodily harm. Tractors have had attachable cabs designed to be mounted to the vehicles in front of the operator's seat to protect the operator from wind and to deflect engine heat away from the operator. Tractors or bulldozers that are in danger of being struck by falling objects, such as trees or portions of buildings, have had protective covers mounted to the vehicles to deflect objects away from the operator's compartment and to protect the operator from injury. Similarly, forklifts have had overhead guards installed to protect their operators from falling objects. Motorcycles have had transparent bulletproof windshields designed to protect the drivers. However, no design has provided a readily detachable shield that moves with the material handling apparatus to be constantly interpositioned between the materials being handled and the operator.
This problem of the lack of safety protection for forklift operators between the operator's compartment and the material being handled is solved by the design of the apparatus comprised in the present invention.